CCC girls basketball steps up

Wednesday

Mar 6, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Back when his East Davidson girls won the Central Carolina Conference tournament with a come-from-behind win over Lexington, Golden Eagles coach Don Corry proclaimed that any of four or five teams could be where his team was.

mike duprez

Back when his East Davidson girls won the Central Carolina Conference tournament with a come-from-behind win over Lexington, Golden Eagles coach Don Corry proclaimed that any of four or five teams could be where his team was.It wasn't just empty coach talk.East Davidson and CCC regular-season champion Thomasville are squaring off in the 2-A Western Regional semifinals Wednesday night. That means one of them will be playing Saturday for a shot at the state championship. That's heady stuff.Not long after he collected the tournament championship plaque, Corry spoke with Lexington coach Lamont Johnson outside the locker room and said, "We might see you guys again. I hope not."With the way the CCC was in girls basketball in the 2012-13 season, five of the six teams were legit contenders to win the title. "It's a tough conference," Johnson said.All of that made the CCC tournament real interesting to watch, especially with the No. 2 seed and a home game in the first round of the playoffs at stake. Thomasville already had the top seed locked up but everything else was up for grabs.Lexington put the formal end to Salisbury's dynasty in the first round, setting up a semifinal showdown with Thomasville. On that night, Lexington junior forward Alexis Fowler turned in perhaps the best performance by a county girls basketball player in a decade by scoring an amazing 39 points in the Yellow Jackets' 86-76 overtime win. Fowler was an equally amazing 17-of-18 from the free throw line.That in turn set up the championship game. East won 44-40 and it was a tough loss for Lexington. The Jackets led by 11 in the first quarter and still had a five-point lead in the fourth quarter when East made its move. The Eagles broke a 40-40 tie with 25.7 seconds left on a pair of Madi Hallman free throws.Considering where East is now, Lexington was that close.Lexington had to go on the road to play towering North Surry, with its lineup featuring several players from the Greyhounds' state championship volleyball team. It wasn't Lexington's night as North Surry won 59-41."If we had done what we were doing in the first half, we would have been OK," Johnson said. "They started throwing the ball to the big girl and we couldn't do anything with her."Johnson can look forward to next season when Fowler and point guard Emerson Hayes return, among others.Central Davidson took the biggest fall by not winning the CCC tournament. The Spartans had tied with Thomasville atop the standings but the Bulldogs swept the season series. When East beat Central in the semifinals, that relegated the Spartans to a road playoff game with a 15-7 record. The Spartans' season also ended in the first round with a 79-72 loss at Forest Hills.To get to the regionals, Thomasville won all three of its playoff games by double digits. East had a tougher route with its largest margin being a 50-40 win over Cuthbertson in the third round."Cuthbertson ran the Princeton offense," Corry said. "It was brutal. We had to learn to be patient."During a light moment in the Western Regional press conference, Corry pointed to Thomasville coach Brandon Staton and said, "Tell him to take it easy on us.""No, you take it easy on us," Staton retorted.Neither will take it easy on Wednesday and one of them will be playing for a shot at a state championship.Mike Duprez can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 218 or mike.duprez@the-disptatch.com.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.